Witch's Daughter And The Devil's Son

"All I want to know is, why did you put this strange foreign fire inside me? Earlier, you apologized to me, saying that this is your fault. Then that probably meant you or whoever you represent put this hellfire in me, didn't you? Tell me.

"What is your purpose? Is my birth mother the one who put it in me? If it's someone else, did she give her approval? If you claim to know me from birth, then you should know what exactly happened to me.

"Are you my mother, Lady Evanthe? Or is it the lady sitting beside you?"

As Seren asked that question, her gaze landed on the quiet Sierra, but the woman made no reaction to her outburst.

Seren didn't know why, but she felt a sense of familiarity both from Evanthe and Sierra. It was not a resonance of power or anything like that. It was purely intuition she had about these two women--though she had no memory of it, she had met them before.

'And Lady Sierra's hands...'

Since young, Martha's had always casted a spell on Seren's skin, causing snake-like scales to appear on the back of her hand and parts of her face. Her nanny never fully explained why, only mentioning it was to keep unnecessary people away, but seeing Sierra's hand, Seren had a guess in her heart.

'Because my birth mother has the same scales. Was it to keep our connection?'

Evanthe sensed where Seren's gaze was and could see through what possibly might go through her head.

"No, I am not your mother, Queen Seren," Evanthe answered calmly.

In her heart, she continued, 'I am your mother-in-law though.'

Seren Ivanov was the daughter-in-law of Esther Ivanov, but this was not the time to expose their real relationship. Evanthe could not even acknowledge her own son, how could she have the heart to tell the truth to her daughter-in-law?

Not now. Not when an important turning point of her life was at the door.

"Then?" Seren intended to ask Sierra the same question but was interrupted by Evanthe who could clearly sense the nervousness of her friend who was not ready to expose the truth.

"Queen Seren, I do understand you have plenty of questions about your past, but please hold on to them until the dangers have come to pass. This is not a good time to be distracted."

Sierra felt relieved that Evanthe had stopped Seren but she didn't know her daughter could be the synonym to the word 'stubbornness'.

"It's just a simple question. Am I not allowed to know the woman who had brought me to this world?" Seren insisted. Her tone alone, it didn't look like she would back down.

Sierra quietly answered, "Apologies, Queen Seren. There are things that we cannot say and questions we cannot answer. Our goal is to protect you and that is where our priorities lay. Please understand our difficulties."

Seren looked at that woman in disbelief. The grip of her hand tightened on the skirt of her dress. "You want to protect me but don't wish to tell me a single thing."

The anger inside her had started to affect the power inside her and the other three were alarmed by that change.

Drayce, in particular, felt the change the most. Seren ought to be the woman with the best temperament he had ever known. It was easy to frighten her, but not to anger her. That hellfire inside her must be somewhat affecting her emotions, causing her to lose her temper easily.

Drayce wrapped his arm around her and caressed her arm to soothe her emotions."Seren, calm down. We will learn the truth in time, I promise. For now, just listen to them. We want to get over this day, right?"

Seren glared at her husband. The moment she looked into that pair of worried red eyes, the indignation inside her heart started to disappear.

Before, it was her who would tame the beast inside him with just her gaze, but now, the situation had flipped-- it was him who would tame the raging beast threatening her rationality.

Seren faced the two women once more. "I apologize for my behavior. I will do as you all say."

She felt weird, as it was uncharacteristic of her to lose her temper over a disagreement. In fact, Evanthe and Sierra were not saying they could not give her the answers she wanted, just that the timing was not good.

It was unpleasant to be kept ignorant, but she understood it was a sensitive time. Maybe once she learns the truth, complications would arise that was why these two women were pleading for her to be more patient.

'I have waited for seventeen--no, eighteen years. I can wait for a couple more days.'

She closed her eyes briefly and opened them, only to see the blond young woman giving her a relieved smile.

"Thank you for your understanding, Queen Seren," Evanthe said. "Since it's still early, you can step out from this ice cave. King Drayce, we will have Martha seek you out to teach you the spell for the ceremony later. The two of you must return to this cave at least an hour before midnight. It is best for us to start monitoring your condition before your powers awaken."

Seren nodded while Drayce stood up as he offered his hand to Seren. She accepted his hand and stood up as well. The door emerged from the wall once more.

Drayce gazed at the two women, but in the end, he said nothing and merely offered them a light nod before leaving.

Once the couple left, Sierra felt her body go numb and weak. She collapsed back on the ice chair as she let her body lose its tension.

"That child, that child will never be able to forgive me, Evanthe," she whispered in a voice so soft, no one could tell what emotions were hidden in it. "I...I don't think I will be able to acknowledge our relationship. I don't know what to do. I'm a coward."

"I am no different from you," Evanthe chuckled, but when she raised her hands, one could see that there were deep fingernail marks on her palm.

It was because despite her business-like demeanor earlier, she had been digging her nails into her skin in order to forcefully keep her composure through pain. She was not as strong as she seemed on the surface.

"Did you see my Dray? I'm so proud of him. I'm so proud...My son...I thought he will..." Evanthe let out a bitter laugh. "I forget he is no longer the innocent five-year-old kid who smiles so adorably, clinging onto me like I'm the best woman in the world...My son, he must already hate me."

"He might understand your circumstances, but Seren, she...I don't think she can. I have hurt her too much. Martha had told me how she treats Valen. Even if she learns of the situation, she will probably keep me at a distance as well."

Evanthe put her hand on her shoulder to console Sierra. "This is not the time to break down like this. Get a hold of yourself. What have you been protecting for so long? Know that this is the price of protecting this world. You can't just be careless and let your emotions take over to spoil our plans."

Sierra could only nod. After some time, she let out a sigh and patted the hand Evanthe had put on her shoulder. "You are right. It's fine even if she hates me. As long as I can protect her, I don't mind being a bad mother to her."

Evanthe sat down on the seat beside Sierra, thinking about something.

Sierra raised a hand, and the ice chairs Drayce and Seren used dissolved back into nothingness. "What are you thinking about?"

"I saw it again."

Sierra understood without the other needing to explain. "Did you have another vision of death?"

Evanthe stared at the empty space in front of her. "And I can't help but be restless."

"If you are truly worried, you should have gone to Agartha and checked the situation yourself."

"Why would I? To waste my time? Even if I go there, there is nothing I can help with. It's the destiny that is written to be fulfilled."

Evanthe lifted her head and stared at the sun stones used to illuminate the ice cave. They were precious magical items crafted by the Sun Elves of Agartha, stones that emit light but not heat. Their golden color reminds her of the golden hair of one of her old friends. She idly wondered if those people in Agartha had been well.

"If I visit there," she said with a nostalgic smile, "I am afraid something worse will happen here and we will be at the losing end. We cannot take a chance and risk Seren's safety. Last time, they almost caught us and Celia ended up hurt. If we are not together then..."

"But that vision is still troubling you, isn't it?"

"As it should. That kind of vision is the world letting me see a fragment of a destined future. An ominous situation will happen on the day of mourning in that kingdom."

"It is bad timing that Seren's coming of age and that day happens to fall on the same day."

"Do you truly think so?" Evanthe let out a bitter laugh. "You know as much as I do, Sierra. Is there such a thing as coincidence in this world?"

Sierra kept her mouth shut. After a while, she added, as if as an afterthought, "Draven Aramis is powerful, and he is not alone. Don't you trust those you've left behind?"

"I am afraid that this time it's him who will be harmed." Evanthe stood up and raised her hand, proceeding to begin reinforcing the spell on the ice cave. "A turning point. Indeed, tomorrow is a turning point, not only for Seren but for the people of Agartha as well."

"Don't worry. We have been taking care of her for almost two decades. We have been doing our best and will continue to do so to protect Seren and that power inside her from falling into their hands."